When the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) was agreed “in principle” last December, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron were rather satisfied.
Their plan was to have the deal agreed upon during Germany’s EU Council presidency and ratified no later than France’s presidency in early 2022. Both EU countries were set to reap benefits from the deal.
But things have gone downhill since then.
Following pressure from all sides, the European Commission conceded in May that efforts to win approval for the CAI had effectively been “suspended”.
Although some have been desperate to play down this setback, the truth is that in recent months Europe has started taking its China policy seriously, tit-for-tat sanctions have soured relations, and Merkel will be out of the office soon.
Portugal Foreign Minister calls on all parties to de-escalate the situation in Jerusalem eureporter.co - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eureporter.co Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Portuguese Forein Minister Augusto Santos Silva: Violence is the enemy of peace. We need all the moderates to try to take control of the situation and to avoid and combat any kind of violence.’’
Israel’s foreign ministry has issued a statement regarding the years-long land dispute in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem. “Regrettably, the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian terror groups are presenting a real-estate dispute between private parties as a nationalistic cause in order to incite violence in Jerusalem. The PA and Palestinian terror groups will bear full responsibility for the violence emanating from their actions,’’ the statement said
COVID vaccine patent waivers divide EU leaders
Increased production and exports of vaccines are more urgent than rushing ahead with a US proposal to lift patent protections on coronavirus vaccines, leading European figures have said.
Though some argue that patents restrict vaccine access, Germany says production capacity is the real problem
European leaders discussed a US proposal for a waiver on intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines at an informal EU summit in Portugal on Friday.
Though Germany came out strongly against the idea, others in the European Union (EU), such as France, Italy and Poland initially signalled support.
What European leaders say about vaccine patent waivers
FRIDAY, APRIL 23 LJUBLJANA – Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou laid a wreath at the Monument to the Victims of all Wars in Ljubljana during a visit to Slovenia at the invitation of her counterpart Borut Pahor. LISBON – Portugal’s Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva opens conference EU-Africa Green Investment Forum – 0800 GMT. VIENNA – Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Health Minister Wolfgang Mueckstein hold news conference on reopening the country – 1200 GMT. GENEVA – WHO to mark one-year anniversary of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator – 1300 GMT. LISBON – Portugal’s Defense Minister Joao Gomes Cravinho holds workshop with several EU defense ministers and secretaries of state about the Strategic Compass – 1530 GMT. ISTANBUL – Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammed Hanif Atmar, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shan Mahmood Qureshi and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu hold talks in Istanbul – 1600 GMT. HANOI – Vietna